Dolly Parton Donation: $1M to Children's Hospital That Treated Niece

Recording artist Dolly Parton arrives in Seacrest Studio at Monroe Carell Jr. Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to share music and her own family's story of hope with kids and their parents on Oct. 13, 2017, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Davis/Getty Images for Pandora)

Dolly Parton will make a $1 million donation to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt where her niece, now grown, was treated for leukemia as a child.

“She’s 29 years old, but when she was 4 years old, she had leukemia, and they just did a great job with treating her at Vanderbilt,” Parton said of the Tennessee hospital during a visit last week, WVLT reported.

Parton was visiting the children at the hospital to release her new album for children, “I Believe in You.” She performed a song from the album, “Chemo Hero,” that she said was inspired by her niece, then announced the surprise donation.

Parton addresses bullying in another song on the album.

“Through music, I think children will learn a lot. They’re singable little melodies with wonderful little messages, so I’m just hoping that they’ll just be better little people,” Parton said, WVLT reported.

The 71-year-old megastar is donating the proceeds of the album to her literacy program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which is giving half a million books to areas recovering from hurricanes. Some of the proceeds will also go to children’s medical research, The Outlaw 100.7 FM reported.

“It’s so important to take care of children whether they’re sick or whether they’re well, especially when they are not feeling good,” Parton told the radio station. “This ain’t about me — it’s about them.”